U.S. and Canada to Conduct 2nd Joint Survey of the Extended Continental Shelf in the Arctic

Notice to the Press

Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of the Spokesman

Washington, DC

July 22, 2009

U.S. and Canadian officials participating in the Extended Continental Shelf cruise will hold a press conference on July 28, 2009, at 10:30 a.m. to discuss the upcoming joint scientific survey of the Arctic. Officials participating from Washington will include senior representatives from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Department of the Interior. Senior officials from the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Coast Guard, Natural Resources Canada and scientists from the University of New Hampshire also will join the press conference via phone.

The U.S. Extended Continental Shelf Task Force, chaired by the Department of State, will conduct a joint 42-day Arctic mission with the Government of Canada this summer to collect scientific data about the extended continental shelf and Arctic seafloor. The mission, scheduled from August 6 to September 16, will continue the collaboration in extended continental shelf data collection in the Arctic started during last summer’s joint survey, with plans for further cooperation in 2010. The interagency and intergovernmental effort will feature the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St-Laurent.

The 2009 Continental Shelf Survey will emphasize the region north of Alaska onto Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge and eastwards toward the Canada Archipelago. The mission will help define the extended continental shelf (beyond 200 miles from shore) in the Arctic Ocean, as well as U.S. and Canadian sovereign rights based on criteria set forth in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Additional information on the Extended Continental Shelf Project is available at: www.continentalshelf.gov and http://www.international.gc.ca/continental/.

Media representatives may attend this event in Room 3940 of the Department of State upon presentation of one of the following: (1) a U.S. government-issued identification card (Department of State, White House, Congress, Department of Defense, or Foreign Press Center), (2) a media-issued photo ID card, or (3) a letter from their employer on letterhead verifying employment as a journalist and an official photo identification (driver’s license or passport).

Pre-set time for cameras: 9:45 a.m. from the 23rd Street entrance

Final access time for writers and stills: 10:10 a.m. from the 23rd Street Entrance

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